Experience overcame youth Tuesday night at the Aberdeen Christian School Gym.

With the game on the line, eighth-rated Aberdeen Christian executed on both ends of the floor to pull out a 50-38 Lake Region Conference boys’ basketball win over Faulkton.

“We expect composure from a group that went to the state tournament last year, so it was nice to see them finish strong,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach.

Clinging to a 42-36 lead with three minutes left, the Knights finished off the game by scoring eight of the last 10 points.

“I called a time out with about three and a half left and it was a six-point game. I wanted that to be their final break for that final stretch,” said Faulkton coach Kyle Erdahl. “We let an inside play go … and then had a turnover that led to a layup and it was 10 points before you knew it.”

Reserve Charles Eichler scored four points for Christian down the stretch to help secure the win.

“We have all the confidence in the world him,” Rohrbach said. “It’s just kind of him finding a little niche around the zone and learning from the bench a little bit, and he was ready to go there in the fourth quarter.”

The Knights had a difficult time shaking the visitors, but in the end found the right answers to bounce back from a setback in their last game.

“We really just talked about how we just needed to get another win and get ourselves back on track,” said Christian’s Luke Kaiser. “We’ve been working on a lot of zone offense, so we’re trying to be able to keep our composure late in the game and close games out.”

Faulkton has just one senior on its roster.

“It’s just that youth,” Erdahl said, “and they’ve got a little bit more experience.”

With six starters at least 6-foot-3 or taller between the two teams, it was a battle in the paint the entire evening.

Faulkton’s Weston Senn produced 13 points despite the attention of the Christian defense.

“I was getting swatted at every time,” Senn said. “I probably had 10 of my shots blocked.”

The Knights, who recently nailed 14 3-pointers in a game, worked the ball inside for higher-percentage shots against Faulkton. Having the ability to score inside and out provides a challenge for opposing defenses.

“They’re a great 3-point team,” Senn said, “and they can pretty much just do anything.”

Christian held its own down low, outrebounding Faulkton 40-28, led by Grady Jett with 10.

“Our big guys, I thought they did a good job rebounding. I need to do a better job helping them out and boxing some people out for them when they rotate down,” Kaiser said. “Also, we probably need to stop throwing as (many) turnovers, too, and start actually valuing the ball.”

Korbin Stark led the Trojans with 19 points, however outside of Senn, no other player managed more than four points.

Senn said there are positives to take away from the setback that the team can use moving forward.

“We definitely will be learning some things from this,” Senn said, “especially on the offensive side of the ball.”

Jett Johnson led a balanced Christian attack with 11 points. Brooks Jett followed with 10, and Dylan Hofer added eight.

The Knights, 8-2 on the season, have a road contest Thursday against Class A Mobridge-Pollock.

“We’ll just need to keep our composure and be able to beat a zone,” Kaiser said. “That’s what it’s going to take to win.”

FAULKTON (6-4): Korbin Stark 7 4-6 19, Spencer Melius 1 0-0 2, Landon Dikoff 0 0-2 0, Weston Senn 5 3-6 13, Logan Niederbaumer 2 0-0 4. Totals 15-58 7-14 38.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (8-2): Jett Johnson 4 0-0 11, Dylan Hofer 2 4-4 8, Grady Jett 3 1-2 7, Luke Kaiser 3 0-0 6, Brooks Jett 5 0-4 10, Raymond Rodriquez-Martinez 1 1-2 1, Charles Eichler 1 5-6 7. Totals 18-52 11-18 50.

Faulkton 10 20 29 38

Aberdeen Christian 15 27 35 50

3-point field goals – Stark; Johnson 3. Total fouls – Faulkton 16; Aberdeen Christian 13. Rebounds – Faulkton 28 (Senn 6, Niederbaumer 6); Aberdeen Christian 40 (G. Jett 10, Hofer 8). Turnovers – Faulkton 15; Aberdeen Christian 18. Assists – Faulkton 5 (Melius 3); Aberdeen Christian 6 (Johnson 2, Hofer 2). Steals – Faulkton 11 (Stark 3, Senn 3); Aberdeen Christian 7 (G. Jett 2).